Monthly Archives: October 2009

Persian poetry 1- Sanai…

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The court of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna

I have been reading some Persian poetry.

My reason for doing this was simply because I knew nothing about Persian poetry- and in these times when the Western world is increasingly at war with most of the Eastern world, it seemed important to understand a little more the rich cultural subsoil that Middle Eastern Islamic civilisations grew within.

I post these bits and pieces like bit of a beautiful mosaic found in a river bed. I do not understand the whole picture- and never will, but I am starting to appreciate it some of its quality.

Beauty, humanity, truth, humour, a search for meaning and a longing for God.

And to encounter the culture through poetry seems to me right somehow. I suppose this is because I write poetry, but also I think this is because these poems are still alive. They have none of the dust of history.

The first poet I want to quote is Sanai.

We know little about him. He died around 1150, and was a subject of Bahramshah, one of the rulers of the Ghaznavids– whose empire covered much of the middle East- and was centred around Garzna, in what is now Afghanistan. He is thought to have been a court poet, who became dissatisfied with the shallow life of court and left to follow Hajj to Mecca.

So here are three poems of Sanai. Let them rest on you for a while-

Streaming (excerpt)

When the path ignites the soul,

there is no remaining in place

The foot touches the ground,

but not for long

The way where love tells its secret

Stays always in motion

And there is no you there, and no reason

The rider urges his horse to gallop

and so doing, throws himself

under the flying hooves

In love-unity there’s no old or new

Everything is nothing

God alone is

The puzzle

Someone who keeps aloof from suffering

is not a lover. I choose your love

above all else. As for wealth

if that comes, or goes, so be it.

Wealth and love inhabit seperate worlds.

But as long as you live here inside me

I can not say that I am suffering.

The time needed

Years are needed before the sun working on

a Yemini rock can make a bloodstone

Months must pass before cotton seed

can provide a seamless shroud

Days go by before a handful of wool

Becomes a Hater rope

Decades it takes a child

To change into a poet

And civilisations fall and are ploughed under

To grow a garden on the ruins

The true mystic

A bit of Martyn Joseph for a lazy Sunday afternoon…

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Lovely day today- a walk around Pucks Glen and lunch at the Coylet Inn next to Loch Eck.

Then listening to music and reading all afternoon- I am reading this book (amongst about 10 others it seems!)- Notes from an exhibition, by Patrick Gayle– and so far am really enjoying it. It made me cry this afternoon which is a usually a sign of great writing, believable characterisation and moving story telling. This book deals with love and family, mental illness, deep Quaker faith and art in a captivating way.

But the other ingredient of a perfect lazy Sunday afternoon is music.

Here is a bit of Martyn Joseph- great guitar player and wordsmith…

Some commercials, and a little rant…

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Thought I would give a couple of things a plug- information being viral and all…

The Scottish Network Churches asked us to spread information about a speaking tour in Scotland by Bishop Graham Cray, who (amongst other things) heads up the team responsible for the Church of England’s Fresh Expressions initiative. Might try to get to some of this…

The CofE has done so much to promote innovative and experimental forms of church- which has given leadership to many other denominations too- the Methodists, URC, Salvationists etc. It is encouraging indeed to see some of this coming north.

Here is the blurb-

How will we encounter God in all of life? And especially in those places where Christians most often cross paths with non-believers and have opportunity to influence society? Can we encourage Christians and church leaders to develop a personal vision for their own growth and effectiveness as disciples who are missionaries and as missionaries who are disciples? Should we provoke Christians and church leaders to possibly re-imagine life in the “gathered community” so that it effectively resources life on the front line of every day life?

LICC and Bishop Cray are “thought leaders” and have enormous practical wisdom to share and so to help us understand the theology, build principles, develop the practices, create the resources, to become Jesus’ disciples in the 21st Century. Mission Scotland hopes that exposure to this work will create an imagination for whole-life discipleship and a deep desire to engage with the questions and challenges we face as God’s people to make disciples, and to live as disciples.

The launch conference, which is the start of a series, is planned for November 28th, 2009 at St. Paul’s and St. George’s, Edinburgh. It is designed equally for church people and for church leaders. Both Mission Scotland and LICC see these events, not as stand-alone events, but as a linear discussion leading to changes in church life, and backed up with ideas and resources, changes in practice, leading to fresh confident expressions of Christians being the church, being disciples, being missionaries, wherever they are placed in Scottish culture and context.

Therefore for those who come this could become more of a journey than simply listening to one of God’s leading thinkers on His Church in Britain today.

FURTHER INFORMATION from Sarah-Jane Biggart; sarahjane.biggart@missionscotland.org.uk. 07734-101358

Also- for those of us that are interested in training and equipping leaders and visionaries for this kind of stuff, check out this training being offered by CMS.

resource

It is English based, rather than Scottish, but at least the units are bite sized, and based in Northern England rather than the deep south. It is not something that I feel I can commit to, but I mention it as I know of nothing else in Scotland that appears to offer the same level of practitioner-practical-network based learning (with apologies to ICC in Glasgow!)

Here is the blurb from Jonny Baker-

well we’re getting closer to resource starting for this year. the web site has had a makeover and looks pretty funky. resource is a course over a year of four weekends exploring themes of mission, culture, leadership, transformation, discipleship and church. each weekend is in a different location/context where we encounter a local community or two and hear their story and what they are up to, as well as some teaching, discussion and reflecting on how it all connects with our own context.

who’s it for? – this explanation is pretty good

how much is it? – each weekend is less than £100 though you have to sort accomodation. there is a bursary so if you’re strapped for cash still apply.

the weekends this year are in sheffield, london, leeds and southampton – and yes the london one is being hosted by grace and moot with a focus on alt worship and mission. you can either sign up for the whole thing or just come to individual weekeds. the whole thing is best because a big part of the learning is hanging with other people and sharing the journey together.

the first weekend is the last weekend in october in sheffield so book now! if you can’t pay now you can book and pay later.

(NOW FOR THE LITTLE RANT!

I am quite happy to be corrected if I am missing something, but it seems to me that north of the border we have a lot to learn from the old enemy in terms of renewing and refreshing expressions of church. It also seems to me that we have a particular need to build supportive partnerships in an age when Scottish Nationalism appears to be leading to a certain snobbish separatism in some parts- which I feel has no place at all amongst Christians. The tendency to build confidence and identity by denigrating the other is a dangerous and unpleasant human characteristic- and when we see this in the very heart of power, I start to feel very uncomfortable. So when we have anti English jokes made by leading politicians, allied to distorted and simplistic versions of history, and school ground popularist prejudice and abuse, then I think it is time for the people of God to stand aside and gently model a different way of being.

And if you think I have no right to say this because I have an English accent, then I ask you to consider our shared history in these islands- our mixed blood lines, and the inevitability of the misuse of power and wealth acquisition by the worst of what we are as humans. In this context, we Christians have a different responsibility- to shine light and to savour good things with salt, not to stand on narrow prejudices and perpetuate poison. There is a real chance that it will fester.

So perhaps one way we can be challenged is in the way we approach faith- how we collectivise our gatherings in a generous and graceful way- and how we can both learn from English brothers and sisters, and teach them from our experience.

Rant over.

Coming out as a universalist…

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There was a story in Christianity magazine that caught my eye today. It concerned the author of this book

evangelical universalist

The author used a pseudonym, made up of the  names of St Gregory of Nyssa and George MacDonald chosen because of their rather universalist stances. ‘Gregory’ set up a blog to discuss the book here.

Some of you are wondering what on earth all the fuss is about, and even what a ‘universalist’  is in this context. For most of my Christian experience, people who held universalist views were on the slippery slope to damnation, if not already in free fall into hell. Universalists believe that God’s plan of engagement with the salvation of creation includes the aim to save EVERYONE- not just a selection of (most of) those who said the sinners prayer and so escape the fate of the apostate majority.

I know a lot of folk whose position has shifted on this- who have started to believe that the discussion about what the Bible might have to say about this issue is simply not closed (I have not read the ‘Evangelical Universalist’, but can recommend Brian McLaren’s ‘The last word and the word after that‘ as a great introduction to these issues.)

Some of the heat of this debate is that so much of Evangelical zeal is based on the idea that people all around us are lost- and  if we fail in our call to save the lost, then people may go to hell- and it will be our fault. There is a real question as to whether there has ever been a major Christian revival that has not had this kind of engine at the heart of it.

My own position is… rather fluid. But as I have said before, I remain a follower of Jesus. I do not think that all forms of faith are equally valid ways of worshipping the same God.

But I also hope that God is bigger than our narrow categorisation, and that indeed he will find a way to redeem everyone.

But back to Gregory MacDonald.

Recently, Robin Parry revealed that he was the real author.

Robin is (or was) the editorial director of Paternoster, a Christian publishing company. He has now resigned his post, reporting the concern that his stance on universalism might damage the sales of Paternoster products in the USA.

So is this what theological debate is about? The need to use pseudonyms and then lose your job if you think beyond a narrow orthodoxy?

Hmmmm…

Spirituality and photography…

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pebble ripples, reflection, loch eck

Another couple of drives around Argyll in the last few days. On Tuesday we drove to Oban to see William sing in the Mod. This is the annual festival of Gaelic language, music and culture. Will was entered in a solo unaccompanied singing competition, and did himself (and me of course) proud, finishing just three points behind the eventual winner.

Yesterday was a bad day for photography- the weather was poor, and I was too nervous to photograph William. Sometimes, it is best just to be in the moment, without the enforced detachment of a lens between you and the action.

But today, I drove to Lochgilphead on a day of Autumn mists and still reflections. I left for an early meeting, and had no time to stop, but on the way home I slowed down.

And took some photographs.

Which set me thinking about why I do it, what the practice of photography brings into my life and how it interacts with the spiritual side of who I am.

I mentally made a list-

  • It allows me to be creative, and in creating, we encounter the Creator
  • It allows me to be appreciative- of the wide vistas, but also of the tiny small things- like the catch of dew on a leaf, or the light falling on yellow sea weed at low tide
  • It makes me look deeper, and that the more I look, the more I see
  • It slows me down and forces me to be more aware of the interplay between sun and scene and settings- the where I am, and the moment I am in
  • It teaches me patience- good photographs rarely happen in a hurry
  • It teaches me discipline- the need to understand how to do something
  • But it also teaches me that despite the acquisition of skill, there is still so much room for spontaneity and the seizure of opportunity
  • And that out of 500 attempts to capture something beautiful, then you might have just one photograph that captures the essence of something…
  • The rules of composition are useful, but are always meant to be played with
  • The capturing of images is a futile pursuit unless shared

Any more suggestions? Sit down a while and think…

chair, symmetry, St Conan's Kirk, Loch Awe

Blonde

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CIMG1460

My daughter Emily is clever.

Clever in the get-her-sums-right kind of way. And also in a see-the-stuff-below-the-surface socially aware kind of way.

I am VERY proud of her. She is 13 going on 35 and in every way wonderful.

But- she is also rather… blonde.

Now I am not into judgmental stereotyping of folks as a result of outward appearance- it is against everything I stand for. But sometimes,  I wonder.

There are lots and lots of blonde jokes out there- the sorts of things that everyone finds funny (unless you happen to be blonde that is…)

For example-

So earlier, I was talking to Emily about Kuala Lumpar, and she asked me if it was in Spain. Fair enough- many of us would struggle to be sure about the whereabouts of Kuala Lumpar (Malaysia by the way- for the Blondes amongst us.)

When I rather harshly chuckled at the possible Spanish connection, and asked her what city she thought might be the capital of Spain, she replied ‘Portugal?’

Again rather unkindly, I laughed, and suggested that that would be like saying that France is the capital of Germany, she said ‘Oh right- and they are not even close to one another are they?’

I corrected her about the location of these European neighbours, and then told her that Madrid was the capital of Spain.

‘Oh right’ she said ‘I thought Madrid was a football team.’

On the other hand, perhaps she has a blonde geography teacher…

Benmore and the restored Fernery

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IMGP6427

We took a walk around the gardens at Benmore yesterday.

The colours that can be seen in the tree collections are astonishing at this time of year- and of course there is the Fernery- a recently restored folly half way up a cliff, housing a collection of rare ferns. It is such a lovely space- and makes me think of my friend Simon McGoo- he would love it.

So for his and your benefit- a few photographs…

The sanctuary of small landscapes…

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edge of the woods, autumn

I woke early this morning- the old black dog is stalking me again, so sleep has become a little erratic. So I took the camera, and went for a walk.

Behind our house, there are woods. Squelch your way in there, and you are in a small pocket of wilderness- deer have squashed flat all the bracken, and the dappled forest floor is alive to all sorts of smaller creatures who live in the leaf mold. If you listen carefully you can almost hear the noise of their lives- chattering, fighting, consuming and copulating amongst the spoors of the autumn fungi.

leaf mold

And I am reminded of an old way of coping- from boyhood. The temporary exile into green spaces. To look for who I am, and to stand on the edges of the world looking in from the outside.

fallen branches

There are big landscapes hereabouts. Huge eyefuls of mountain and sea- vistas that swallow you whole and allow you to disappear.

But for now, I need the small ones. I need the nook and the hollow. I need the shadow cast by sun in trees. And the dance of the falling leaf. I need to tread carefully around mushrooms and step over the tracks left by something small and furry.

beech leaves

I am reminded of an old poem- written a few years ago, in a similar frame of mind, if in a very different season-

When I was a child
I saw as a child
Small
In the small things of landscape
Deep in the tickling grass
Held in the hollow of slow summer days
Now, like the grasshoppers
Ghosts of memory
Gone forever

But now I am grown
And the woods are no longer wild

My dragons died through education (at least for a while)
And the noise of cars on the B6139 heading for Newstead
Drove away the bears.

Instead I lift my eyes to the high places
Where horizons roll from ridge to ridge
Always higher, always further north
Crossing the high, hard won corrie
Blood pumping
Free for a while
From the baser motives-
Above it all.

Slower now
At the end of heavy days
And in good company
I look again beneath my feet
And try not to trample flowers

Michaela’s favourite view…

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A gorgeous autumn day today- and I took a drive round to Lochgilphead to meet with some colleagues. Lovely.

As ever, the camera traveled with me, and I took this shot along Loch Fyne, into the afternoon sun.

It is Michaela’s favourite view, and I always struggle to do it justice, as the vistas are so broad and wide, ringed in the far distance by the hills of Kintyre.

But I am enjoying the wide angle of the standard 18-55 mm lens on my camera- partnered with a polarising filter, that teases out some extra texture from clouds and colours, given the right angle to the light. But this one was into the sun, and I kind of like it…

Hope Michaela does too.

lochfyne from strachur, 1

And with a rough nod to the ‘two thirds rule’, here is a shot with the horizon in the other place…

loch fyne from strachur 2